This afternoon we were visiting the temple mount area and while standing near the western wall - the portion of the original retaining wall from the second temple that still stands where Jewish men and women stand day and night to pray and remember. While watching the incredible sight of hundreds of people gather to pray and sing and wail we saw the most extraordinary thing: a Bar Mitzvah!
Apparently it is quite common on Tuesdays and Thursdays for Bar Mitzvah processionals to come up to the wall. During the one we witnessed today the 12 year old boy (isn’t he precious?!) was hoisted onto the shoulders of his father and uncles and marched from just outside dung gate (near the temple mount area) through the streets to the western wall. Throughout this procession one male relative was blowing a large horn and two were playing drums while everyone shouted and sang. Once they arrive at the wall they all listened as the young boy read aloud from the Torah and interpreted it (with the help and prompting of his Rabbi) for the first time.
I remember going to Bar Mitzvah parties when I was a kid in Oregon. We would have party at the country club and eat lamb and have awkward gender segregated dances. The procession I saw today seems like a much better way to celebrate.
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